Despite Hollister’s reputation as a bedroom community, a number
of local residents, like Bryan Yamaoka, have deep roots here.
Hollister – Despite Hollister’s reputation as a bedroom community, a number of local residents, like Bryan Yamaoka, have deep roots here.
Yamaoka, 50, a third generation county resident, was born into a family of farmers. His grandparents moved to San Benito County to take advantage of the weather and soil conditions. Yamaoka remembers his father farming strawberries and raspberries into the late 1950’s.
While he could have left to seek his fortune elsewhere, Yamaoka has no desire to start over in another community.
“This is my home,” he said. “The people, the atmosphere, it isn’t really like this anywhere else.”
While Hollister has maintained its small-town charm, a fact that many local residents are proud of, Yamaoka recalls a different Hollister than the one we live in today.
“I remember just walking around town,” he said. “And you knew everybody you saw – who they were and what they did. Now, you recognize maybe one in 10 people on the street, on a good day.”
Yamaoka graduated from San Benito High School and worked at the cannery on East Street while he took undergraduate classes.
“I’ll put it this way,” he said. “I still have a hard time eating ketchup.”
in the mid-1970s Yamaoka started working for Hollister’s Wastewater Department. In 1986, he became the general manager at Sunnyslope Water.
“It’s interesting work because it’s a continuing challenge,” he said. “Projects can take years to complete, and there’s no overnight answer to anyone’s question.”
The same year Yamaoka began working for Sunnyslope Water, he met Jenie. The two will celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary next weekend. They have an eight-year-old daughter, Tori.
“We try to be supportive, her mom has coached all of her athletic teams and we try to make all her games.” he said.
In his spare time, Yamaoka serves as secretary to the local Rotary Club.
“I feel the need to give back to my community,” he said. “Both working as a public servant and working with rotary.”
